The format of the Windows NT 4.0- and Windows 95-style INF files differs from the Windows NT 3.x INF files. These new INF files do not contain installation scripts. All of the installation procedures are included in the setup program; the INF file acts as a resource, containing formatting and file information.
An INF file is made up of a set of named sections. To be used by the operating system installer, a section must contain one or more items. There can be any number of sections in an INF file.
There are approximately 20 types of sections that can be used in an INF file. Each type of section has a particular purpose; for example, to install a service or add entries to the registry.
INF files must follow these general rules:
Three sections from a sample INF file are shown below, so you can more easily visualize the an INF file being made up of sections and each section containing one or more items. The section named Version contains five items, the section named DestinationDirs contains one item, and the section named ControlFlags contains three items.
[Version]
Signature="$Windows NT$"
Class=Mouse
ClassGUID={4D36E96F-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Provider=%Provider%
LayoutFile=layout.inf
[DestinationDirs]
DefaultDestDir=12
[ControlFlags]
ExcludeFromSelect.NTAlpha=*PNP0F0D,*PNP0F11,*PNP0F00,*PNP0F02,*PNP0F15
ExcludeFromSelect.NTMIPS=*PNP0F0D,*PNP0F11,*PNP0F00,*PNP0F02,*PNP0F15
ExcludeFromSelect.NTPPC=*PNP0F0D,*PNP0F11,*PNP0F00,*PNP0F02,*PNP0F15
The remainder of this section describes the syntax and meaning of the items used in each type of INF file section. The following sections are described:
Service Install